Radio interoperability system and method

ABSTRACT

A method, system and memory are provided for enabling interoperability. A communication session between different communication systems, such as radio systems, operating using different protocols is initiated by receiving a scenario identifier from one of the user devices. An interoperability server receives the scenario identifier and accesses interoperability data to obtain the connection information corresponding the scenario matching the scenario identifier. The data includes scenarios for communication sessions and the connections required for each scenario. Once the interoperability server obtains the connection information, the communication session is initiated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/369,869, filedMar. 8, 2006 and which issued on Mar. 9, 2010 as U.S. Pat. No.7,676,228, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/717746, filed Sep. 19, 2005, which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to radio interoperability systems andmethods.

Public safety communication systems, such as 911 services, police andfirefighter systems, use radio dispatch. Typically, dedicated publicsafety frequencies are used, which are frequently in the 800 MHz UHFrange. However, each agency or agencies from different municipalitiesuse different frequencies.

In the aftermath of the events of Sep. 11, 2001, there is a mandate forthere to be interoperability between the communication systems of thevarious emergency services agencies. In addition to various radiofrequencies and different radio signaling protocols, there is arequirement for seamless interconnection of the radio systems withtelephone systems and packet network based communication systems, suchas VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol).

Existing solutions that enable radio interoperability require anoperator to manually set up a scenario or session between the userdevices that are to be parties to the session.

Examples of current interoperability solutions include Vega®'s V.I.P.E.Rsystem; Zetron's interconnect products; Raytheon JPS Communications'ACU1000™; Catalyst Communication Technology, Inc.'s IP Link™; andTwisted Pair Solution's Wave™. Interoperability is also described inApplicant's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/095,465 filedApr. 1, 2005 and Ser. No. 11/096,081 filed Apr. 1, 2005, both of whichare hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method ofinitiating communication between a plurality of communication systems,at least two of the communication systems using different communicationprotocols, the method comprising: maintaining interoperability datadefining a plurality of scenarios, each scenario defining a mode ofinteroperability between a respective set of communication systems ofthe plurality of communication systems, at least one communicationsystem in the respective set being a two-way radio system; receiving aselection of a particular one of the scenarios; in response to receivingthe selection, automatically initiating establishment of a communicationsession between the communication systems of respective set ofcommunication systems of the particular one of the scenarios.

In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided aninteroperability system for enabling interoperability between aplurality of communication systems having at least two differentcommunication protocols and in communication with a packet network, atleast one of the communication systems being a two-way radio system, theinteroperability system comprising: an interoperability server incommunication with the packet network, the interoperability serverconfigured to receive a selection of a particular scenario and initiateestablishment of a communication session corresponding to the particularscenario, wherein the particular scenario is selected frominteroperability data defining a plurality of scenarios, each scenariocomprising a mode of interoperability between a respective selected setof communication systems of the plurality of communication systems.

In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a memoryfor storing data for access by an application program being executed onan interoperability server, comprising: an interoperability datastructure stored in said memory, the data structure includinginformation resident in a database used by said application program andincluding: a plurality of scenario identifier data objects comprising ascenario identifier for each of a plurality of scenarios, each scenarioconsisting of connections required for a respective communicationsession between at least two user devices from at least two differentcommunication systems, at least one of the two communication systemsbeing a two-way radio system, and having at least two differentcommunication protocols; a plurality of scenario interconnection dataobjects, each scenario connection data object comprising connectioninformation for the respective communication session.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will becomeapparent, to those ordinarily skilled in the art, upon review of thefollowing description of the specific embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an interoperability system according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an interoperability system according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method of establishing a communicationsession between two communication systems operating on differentprotocols according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a data structure according to oneembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a communication network incorporating anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an interoperability system 50 according toone embodiment of the invention for enabling interoperablecommunications between multiple radio systems 56, 60, 82 (only threeshown). Radio systems 56, 60 and 82 operate on different protocols, suchas different frequencies and/or signalling protocols. In someembodiments, at least one and preferably all of the radio-systems is atwo-way radio system, i.e. a system enabling radio communication servicebetween radio units such as but not limited to mobile and/or landstations. This includes, but is not limited to conventional land,maritime, and aeronautical mobile services, common carriers such ascellular telephone and radio paging, and new applications like PCS(Personal Communications System)and elements of the IntelligentTransportation System (ITS, formerly the Intelligent Vehicle HighwaySystem, or IVHS).

Each radio system 56, 60 and 82 is shown supporting a respective set ofradio units 58, 62 and 84. The actual radio units supported can changeover time. In each radio system 56, 82 or 60, communication signals arebroadcast on one or more channels. Each channel might for example be arespective frequency. Each radio unit 58, 84 or 62 within a respectiveradio system 56, 82 or 60 can receive all communication signalsbroadcast over any channel or channels that it is monitoring.

The interoperability system 50 and the radio systems 56, 60, 82 are allin communication with a packet network 52. The packet network 52 can beany network that uses a packet protocol, such as, but not limited to, anIP network, the Internet, a WAN (Wide Area Network) or a LAN (Local AreaNetwork). In some embodiments, the packet network is enabled formulticasting. In some embodiments the interoperability system operateson a QoS-enabled Internet Protocol (IP) backbone.

The interoperability system 50 comprises an interoperability server 72that has access to interoperability data 70. The interoperability server72 can be any combination of hardware and/or software designed toimplement the functions described herein. The interoperability data 70is information used to make the connections required to set upcommunication sessions corresponding to each of a set of scenarios. Forthe embodiment of FIG. 1, a “scenario” is a pre-defined mode ofinteroperability that connects a particular set of radio systemstogether such that radio units on one of the systems can communicatewith radio units on another of the systems. In some embodiments, ascenario identifier identifies each scenario. The scenario identifiersidentify scenarios for interoperability between various radio systems56, 60, 82. The interoperability data also includes all of theconnection information needed to set up the scenarios. Connections arephysical or virtual connections. In some embodiments theinteroperability data 70 is in a database. In some embodiments, theinteroperability data 70 is located on the interoperability server 72.

In operation the interoperability server 72 receives a selection of aparticular scenario from one of the radio systems and initiates theestablishment of connections corresponding to the particular scenariobased on connection information obtained from the interoperability data70. This process will be discussed in greater detail below.

In some embodiments the radio systems 56, 60, 82 are dispatch systems,such as emergency dispatch systems used for public safety. Exampleemergency dispatch systems include fire department dispatch systems,police department dispatch systems, and ambulance dispatch systems. Insome embodiments, the radio systems are in different municipalities orregions. Although FIG. 1 has only three radio systems, aninteroperability system 50 according to the present invention cansupport any number of radio systems. In other embodiments, other typesof communication systems, such as telephony systems, IP radio systems,IP telephony systems, etc., are supported.

In the illustrated example, radio system 56 supports a plurality ofradio units 58 that communicate with each other using the protocol ofthat radio system. The radio system 56 is in communication with thepacket network 52 through a gateway 54 that converts signals from theradio system 56 into the packet protocol and converts signals receivedfrom the packet network 52 into audio and signalling in accordance withthe protocol of the radio system 56.

Similarly, radio system 60 supports a plurality of radio units 62 thatcommunicate with each other using the protocol of that radio system. Theradio system 60 is in communication with the packet network 52 through agateway 64, which converts signals from the radio system 60 into thepacket protocol and converts signals received from the packet network 52into audio and signalling in accordance with the protocol of the radiosystem 60.

Radio system 82 supports radio units 84, and is in communication withthe packet network 52 through a gateway 80, which performs a functionsimilar to that of the other gateways 54 and 64.

Examples of gateways are described in the Applicant's co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 11/095,465. Gateways allow radio systems havingdifferent protocols, such as EIA tone or vendor specific signalling, tobe interconnected with the interoperability system 50. In someembodiments,) gateways 54, 64, 80 each has an IP address. In someembodiments the gateways 54, 64, 80 are members of IP multicast groups.A communication can be sent to either of the radio systems 56, 60 or 82over the packet network 52 by sending the communication to the IPaddress of the respective gateway 54, 64, or 80.

Scenarios are pre-defined, for example through an administrativeinterface (not shown) to the interoperability system 50.

For the particular example of FIG. 1, the available interoperabilityscenarios include

-   -   system 56+system 60    -   system 56+system 82    -   system 60+system 82    -   system 56+system 60+system 82.

A sub-set or all of these scenarios is configured so as to be madeavailable. The particular scenarios to be made available will of coursedepend upon the particular manner in which the different radio systemsneed to inter-operate. The particular nature of the connectioninformation is implementation dependent. Users of the radio units haveaccess to information allowing them to select a particular scenario.This might consist of a menu of scenarios and corresponding scenarioidentifiers.

Assuming the first three scenarios above are implemented, theinteroperability data might take the following form, shown in Table 1below:

TABLE 1 Scenario Identifier Gateway IP Address 150 IP Address ofgateways 54, 64 151 IP Address of gateways 54, 80 152 IP Address ofgateways 64, 80

A user in one of the radio systems can initiate a communication sessionwith another radio system by selecting a scenario identifier for aparticular scenario. In some embodiments the scenario identifier is sentto the interoperability server 72 using DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency)technology.

For example, a user might want to implement the scenario connectinggateway 54 to gateway 64. The scenario identifier for this scenario is“150”. A user in radio system 56 can initiate the communication sessionby keying the scenario identifier “150” into his or her radio unit 58.Gateway 54 will convert the signal carrying the scenario identifier intopacket protocol and send it to the interoperability system 50. Theinteroperability server 72 receives the scenario identifier and accessesthe interoperability data 70 to obtain the corresponding connectioninformation for the scenario. In this case, the connection data willcomprise the IP addresses of gateways 54, 64. Based on the connectioninformation obtained, the interoperability server 72 initiates theestablishment of the communication session. In some embodiments, theinteroperability server 72 establishes the communication session bysignalling the gateways 54 and 64 to communicate with each other.Examples of how sessions are established will be given below.Transmissions from the user on radio unit 58 are then broadcast overradio system 56 in the radio protocol of the radio system 56, convertedinto packet protocol by gateway 54, and sent to the IP address ofgateway 64. Gateway 64 converts the signal from packet protocol intoaudio and signalling and broadcasts it over radio system 60 in the radioprotocol of the radio system 60, where it is received by radio units 62.

How a session is established varies depending on the type of session,for example, half-duplex or full duplex. A session can be full-duplex ifall entities within the session support full-duplex operation. Telephonecircuits (PSTN or VoIP) typically support full-duplex operation. Radiosystems, however, often use a single frequency for receive and transmitaudio and therefore support only half-duplex operation, meaning asubscriber can only talk or listen, and not do both at once; speechdirection is usually controlled by a push to talk (PTT) switch on eachsubscriber unit, although it can also operate via voice-operated (VOX)circuitry.

For a full-duplex session, the interoperability server 72 instructs eachindividual gateway 54, 64 or 80 involved in the session to establishconnection with the other gateways involved in the session, asappropriate. Each gateway will then start outputting incoming audio fromthe radio system 56, 60 or 82 towards the packet network 82, using IPmulticasting or a series of IP unicast packets, as appropriate. Eachgateway will also start accepting the audio received from the othergateways, received through packet network 52, sum it if appropriate(i.e. if more than 2 entities are involved in the session) andretransmit it towards its respective radio system 56, 60 or 82 asappropriate.

For a half-duplex session, the interoperability server 72 instructs eachindividual gateway 54, 64 or 80 involved in the session to establishconnection with the other gateways involved in the session, asappropriate. Each gateway will then start outputting incoming audio fromthe radio system 56, 60 or 82 towards the packet network 52, using IPmulticasting or a series of IP unicast packets, as appropriate. Eachgateway will also output the status of its respective radio system (i.e.whether incoming audio is present or not) to the interoperabilityserver. This status can either be received from a radio as a digitalsignal or can be deduced from speech analysis by the gateway. Theinteroperability server 72 arbitrates which entity should be talkingusing first-come, first-serve or priority algorithms. Theinteroperability server 72 then sends each gateway a packet containingthe identity of the gateway controlling the talking entity. Each gatewayuses this information to accept the audio received from the talkinggateway, received through packet network 52, and retransmit it towardsits respective radio system 56, 60 or 82 as appropriate.

Although the above embodiment only includes one interoperability system50, multiple interoperability systems 50 and multiple interoperabilityservers 72 can exist for increased capacity. The interoperabilityservers 72 can be geographically separated for increased faulttolerance. The interoperability data 70 can be in one locationaccessible by all interoperability servers or the interoperability datacan also be stored in multiple locations.

Furthermore, it is noted that once the definition of scenarios iscomplete, and a mechanism for selecting a particular scenario isprovided, any method can be used to physically implement the scenario.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an interoperability system 100 inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. The interoperabilitysystem 100 depicted in FIG. 2 is in communication with a packet network102. Communication systems 108, 110, 116 are also in communication withthe packet network 102. In the case of communication systems 108, 116the connections to the packet network are through gateways 104, 106which convert the protocol of communication systems 108, 116 into packetprotocol and vice versa. Communication system 110 uses packet protocoland therefore a gateway is not required. Communication systems 108, 110,116 each support a plurality of user devices 112, 114, 118 respectively.It is to be understood that the interoperability system 100, inaccordance with the present invention, can support any number ofcommunication systems, gateways and user devices in communication with apacket network 102 and is not limited to three communication systems, asdepicted in FIG. 2.

The interoperability system 100 comprises an interoperability server 120and an interoperability database 130. The interoperability server 120has access to the interoperability database 130. The interoperabilitydatabase 130 comprises scenario identifiers 132, scenarios 134 andconnection information 136 stored in any appropriate form. The scenarioidentifiers 132 identify the scenarios 134. The identifiers arepreferably a string of digits but can be a string of characters or acombination of digits, characters and symbols. Each scenario 134 is aconnection scenario for connecting any of a plurality of user devicesfrom any of a plurality of communication systems 108, 110. For example,one scenario is for user device 112 to connect with user device 114.Another scenario is to connect communication system 108 withcommunication system 116 by connecting gateway 104 to gateway 106.Another scenario is to connect user device 114 to communication system116 by connecting user device 114 to gateway 106. In some embodiments,user device 112 communicates using a different protocol than that usedby user device 114. The connection information 136 contains theinformation required to establish scenario 134. The connectioninformation for the scenario given in the previous example would includethe IP address of the gateway 104 and the IP address of the user device114.

The interoperability system is not limited to the configuration in theembodiment of FIG. 2. More generally, the interoperability systemcomprises an interoperability server and interoperability data asdescribed with reference to FIG. 1.

In operation, the interoperability server receives a communication froma user device 112, 114, or 118 through the packet network 102, thecommunication containing a scenario identifier. The user device thatsends the scenario identifier is referred to herein as the initiatinguser device. In some embodiments, the user device contains a menu ofscenario identifiers that can be selected by an end user. In someembodiments, the scenario identifier is also accompanied with a passwordor PIN (Personal Identifier Number) identifying the user device or theuser of the user device. In embodiments where a PIN or password is sent,the interoperability server will verify that the PIN or password isvalid before proceeding. In response to receiving the scenarioidentifier, the interoperability server 120 accesses theinteroperability database 130 and obtains the connection informationcorresponding to the scenario that corresponds to the scenarioidentifier sent by the user device. The interoperability server 120 theninitiates the connection to establish the scenario corresponding to thescenario identifier sent by the user device 112, 114 or 118.

Gateways 104, 106 convert the protocol of the user devices 112, 118 intopacket protocol and vice versa thus enabling user devices operating ondifferent protocols to communicate with each other.

The interoperability system 100 enables the initiation of interoperablecommunication sessions from a user device without the requirement for anoperator to set up a connection or patch. An initiating user deviceinitiates the interoperable communication simply by sending a scenarioidentifier to the interoperability system, and the session is thenautomatically established.

The communication systems 108, 110, 116 can be any combination of radiosystems, telephone networks such as a PSTN (Public Switched TelephoneNetwork) or an IP (Internet Protocol) telephony network, IP radiosystems, or public IP networks. In the case of IP based networks orsystems, a gateway is not required. The communication systems may formpart of a public safety network, including networks such as police, firefighters and emergency services, as well as dispatch networks.

The user devices 112, 114, 118 are any user devices operable on therespective communication system. Examples of user devices include radiounits, telephone units, IP radio units, IP telephony units, workstationsand remote workstations.

In some embodiments the interoperability system can be accessed by auser device 112, 114, 118 to perform one or more of the followingfunctions: activate a predefined connection; deactivate a predefinedconnection; define a connection, such as a radio patch; define agateway; manage users; define schedules for one-time connections; anddefine schedules for recurring connections. An example of a user devicethat can be used to perform these functions is a workstation with accessto the packet network. In another embodiment, a workstation is connecteddirectly to the interoperability server. In some embodiments, the abovefunctions can only be performed by a user with authorization. In such asituation, a password or PIN (Personal Identification Number) may berequired in order to perform the above-identified functions.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for a method for enabling interoperablecommunications between at least two communication systems using at leasttwo different communication protocols, according to the presentinvention. At least one of the communication systems is a two-way radiosystem. In a preferred embodiment, the method is implemented on aninteroperability server, such as the one described with reference toFIG. 2. In step 202 of the method, a selection of a scenario isreceived. In step 206, interoperability data corresponding to thescenario is accessed. Next, in step 208 the establishment of acommunication session is initiated in accordance with theinteroperability data corresponding to the scenario.

In the method described with reference to FIG. 3, the scenarioidentifier is the only information required to initiate the setting upof the communication session. Therefore, an end user at a user devicecan establish communication with a user device in another communicationsystem having a different protocol simply by sending an identifier tothe interoperability system.

For example, a user of a radio unit in a two-way radio system can entera scenario identifier into his/her radio unit for a communicationsession with another radio system. The interoperability server receivesthe scenario identifier and initiates establishment of the communicationsession. Once the session is established user devices on both radiosystems receive all signals broadcast in both systems on channels thatthey are monitoring.

In some multi-channel systems, the gateways have the capability toselect an individual channel. For example, most radio control protocolsinclude the ability to select which frequency is used by the radio. Insome embodiments, the interoperability data accessed in Step 206includes channel information, which the interoperability server can useto instruct the gateway as to what channel to use for incoming andoutgoing communications. However, if there is only a single voice pathbetween a given gateway and a respective radio system, the gateway/radiosystem combination is limited to one session at a time, regardless ofhow many channels are available in the radio system. In someembodiments, this limitation is overcome by deploying more than onevoice path for a gateway. The number of voice paths dictates the numberof simultaneous sessions in which a radio system can be involved.

In another example, a user of a radio unit in a radio system can enter ascenario identifier for an outside PSTN line. The interoperabilityserver initiates establishment of a communication session between theradio system and the PSTN. The user is then prompted to enter atelephone number into the radio unit and a call to the respectivetelephone number is established. All radio units in the radio system areable to receive the call.

In some embodiments, the scenario identifier is sent using DTMF (DualTone Multi-Frequency) technology. In other embodiments, the scenarioidentifier is sent using IVR (Interactive Voice Response) technology. Instill other embodiments, speech recognition technology is used.

In embodiments where IVR is used, a user keys in a code to access theIVR system or dials a number. The IVR system then prompts the user toprovide a scenario identifier. In some embodiments the IVR will providethe user with possible scenarios and corresponding scenario identifiers.

In some embodiments, the method also comprises receiving a request toperform any of the functions listed above with reference to FIG. 2.

In some embodiments, the method also comprises receiving a PIN andverifying that the user device or user associated with the PIN hasauthorisation to initiate the requested communication session or toperform a requested function.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an interoperability data structure 300. Theinteroperability data structure 300 comprises scenario identifier dataobjects 302, scenario information data objects 304 and connection dataobjects 306. The scenario identifier data objects 302 point to scenarioinformation data objects 304, which contain connections for each of aseries of scenarios corresponding to the scenario identifier dataobjects. The scenario information data objects 304 point to theconnection data objects 306 which contain data for each connectionlisted in the series of scenarios. Examples of the data for theconnections include connection device type, such as a radio ortelephone, and signalling protocol, such as EIA tone or digitalprotocol.

An example data structure according the embodiment of FIG. 4 is shown inTable 2:

TABLE 2 Scenario Identifier Scenario Connection Data 123 Gateway A toGateway B IP address for Gateway A IP address for Gateway B 456 GatewayB to Gateway C IP address for Gateway B and Gateway D IP address forGateway C IP address for Gateway D

In Table 2 each scenario has an associated scenario identifier that isthree digits and associated connection information. In order toestablish the connections associated with any of the scenarios, a userneed only enter the three digits of the corresponding scenarioidentifier into the initiating user device and send it to theinteroperability server.

In some embodiments, the interoperability system is located on adistributed call management module (DCMM), such as that described in theApplicant's co-pending application Ser. No. 11/096,081.

FIG. 5 depicts a communication network 400 in which an interoperabilitysystem 401, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,is located on a DCMM 404. The communication network 400 comprises apacket network 402 in communication with various communication systems.Each communication system has user devices. In the embodiment of FIG. 5,the communication systems are a PSTN 412, a public IP network 416, aradio system 424, an IP radio system 426, a packet based IP telephonenetwork 430 and a radio system 438. Also in communication with thepacket network 402 is a dispatch centre 442 having two operatorworkstations 444 and 446. An example of a dispatch centre 442 is a PSAP(Public Safety Answering Point). The user device in communication withthe public IP network 416 is a remote operator workstation 418. The userdevice supported by the radio system 424 is a radio unit 425. Radiosystem 424 is in communication with the packet network 402 through aradio gateway 422, which is located on a DCMM 420. The user device forthe IP radio system 426 is an IP radio unit 428. The user device for theIP telephone network 430 is an IP telephony unit 432. The user devicefor radio system 438 is a radio unit 440. Radio system 438 is incommunication with the packet network 402 through radio gateway 436,which is located on DCMM 434. The user device for the PSTN 412 is atelephony unit 414. The PSTN 412 is in communication with the packetnetwork 402 through telephone gateway 410, which is located on DCMM 404along with the interoperability system 401.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 5, interoperability system 401 islocated on DCMM 404. However, interoperability system 401 can be locatedon any DCMM such as DCMM 420 or 434 or on multiple DCMMs. Alternatively,the interoperability system 401 can be located on a separate server incommunication with the packet network 402.

The interoperability system 401 comprises an interoperability server 406and an interoperability database 408, which perform functions similar tothe interoperability server 120 and the interoperability database 130described with reference to FIG. 2.

As can be seen, the interoperability system can be implemented into acomplex communication network. It will be appreciated that embodimentsof the present invention are not limited to the number and types ofcommunication systems in the embodiment of FIG. 5.

Examples of specific user devices initiating communication sessions willnow be discussed with reference to FIG. 5.

For example, in an embodiment, the user of radio unit 425 has access toa menu of scenarios and associated scenario identifications. Thescenario may be a communication session with any number of the otheruser devices or communication systems. To initiate any of thecommunication scenarios selected by the user, radio unit 425 sends ascenario identifier corresponding to the scenario to theinteroperability system 401 using DTMF technology. The interoperabilityserver 406 receives the scenario identifier. In some embodiments, theradio unit 425 also sends a PIN at the same time as the scenarioidentifier. In other embodiments, the interoperability server 406prompts the radio unit 425 for the PIN. The interoperability server 406verifies that the PIN is valid and then obtains the connection data fromthe interoperability database 408 to set up the communication session inaccordance with the scenario. In some embodiments a radio unit canconnect to another radio channel in real-time, connect to a telephoneline in real-time, activate a predefined radio connection or patch,and/or deactivate a predefined radio connection or patch.

In another example embodiment, the user of telephone unit 414 has accessto a menu of scenarios and associated scenario identifiers. The scenariomay be a communication session with any number of the other user devicesor communication systems. To initiate a communication session, telephoneunit 414 sends a scenario identifier corresponding to the scenario tothe interoperability system 401 using IVR technology. Theinteroperability server 406 receives the scenario identifier. In someembodiments, the telephone unit 414 also sends a PIN at the same time asthe scenario identifier. In other embodiments the interoperabilityserver 406 prompts the telephone unit 414 for the PIN. Theinteroperability server 406 verifies the PIN and then obtains theconnection data from the interoperability database 408 to set up thecommunication session in accordance with the scenario. In someembodiments, a telephone unit can connect to a radio channel inreal-time, activate a predefined radio connection or patch, and/ordeactivate a predefined radio connection or patch.

A similar process is followed in order for any of the user devices toinitiate a communication session.

In another embodiment, a user at a workstation 418, 444, or 446 canaccess the interoperability database after entering a password andperform any of the following functions: activate a predefined radioconnection or patch; deactivate a predefined radio connection patch;define a radio connection or patch; define a gateway; manage users;define schedules for a one-time patch; and define schedules forrecurring connections or patches. In some embodiments the user ispresented with a user interface at the workstation which comprises amenu of the functions. In some embodiments the user interface alsoincludes a menu of the scenarios available and the correspondingscenario identifiers.

What has been described is merely illustrative of the application of theprinciples of the invention. Other arrangements and methods can beimplemented by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention.

1. A method of initiating communication between a plurality ofcommunication systems, at least two of the communication systems usingdifferent communication protocols, the method comprising: maintaininginteroperability data defining a plurality of scenarios, each scenariodefining a mode of interoperability between a respective set ofcommunication systems of the plurality of communication systems, atleast one communication system in the respective set being a two-wayradio system; receiving a selection of a particular one of the scenariosand authorization information, wherein receiving a selection comprisesreceiving a scenario identifier from a device initiating thecommunication, the device configured to access one of the communicationsystems; in response to receiving the selection and the authorizationinformation, validating the authorization information and automaticallyinitiating establishment of a communication session between thecommunication systems of the respective set of communication systems ofthe particular one of the scenarios; and receiving a request to performa task utilizing the communication session, wherein maintaininginteroperability data comprises maintaining a database including thescenarios, connection information related to the scenarios and scenarioidentifiers, and data indicative of routing data packets between thecommunications systems, each scenario identifier identifying one of thescenarios, wherein each of the plurality of communication systems isselected from the group consisting of a radio system, a dispatch system,a PSTN, a public IP (Internet Protocol) network, an IP telephonenetwork, an IP radio system and any combination thereof.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein at least one scenario comprises communication withat least one gateway, the gateway enabling a respective communicationsystem to communicate over a packet network and configured to convertsignals received from a packet network into a protocol of a respectivecommunication system and converting signals to be transmitted from thecommunication system into a packet protocol.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein at least one scenario comprises communication with at least oneuser device selected from the group consisting of a telephone unit, aradio unit, an IP (Internet Protocol) radio unit, an IP telephone unitand a workstation.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the authorizationinformation comprises a PIN (Personal Identification Number).
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the selection is received over a packetnetwork.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving arequest to perform a function selected from the group comprising:activating a predefined connection, deactivating a predefinedconnection, defining a connection, defining a gateway, managing users,defining schedules for one-time connections and defining schedules forrecurring connections.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the scenarioidentifier is sent by a user device in the communication system.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein maintaining interoperability data comprisesmaintaining a database comprising the scenarios, connection informationrelated to the scenarios and scenario identifiers, each scenarioidentifier identifying one of the scenarios.
 9. An interoperabilitysystem for enabling interoperability between a plurality ofcommunication systems having at least two different communicationprotocols and said communication systems in communication with a packetnetwork, the interoperability system comprising: an interoperabilityserver in communication with the packet network, the interoperabilityserver configured to: maintain interoperability data defining aplurality of scenarios, each scenario defining a mode ofinteroperability between a respective set of communication systems ofthe plurality of communication systems, at least one communicationsystem in the respective set being a two-way radio system; receiveauthorization information and a selection of a particular scenario,wherein the selection comprises a scenario identifier received from adevice initiating a communication, the device configured to access oneof the communication systems; and in response to receiving the selectionand the authorization information, validate the authorizationinformation and automatically initiate establishment of a communicationsession corresponding to the particular scenario for the device, whereininteroperability data comprises a database including the scenarios,connection information related to the scenarios and scenarioidentifiers, and data indicative of routing data packets between thecommunications systems, each scenario identifier identifying one of thescenarios, wherein each of the plurality of communication systems isselected from the group consisting of a radio system, a dispatch system,a PSTN, a public IP (Internet Protocol) network, an IP telephonenetwork, an IP radio system and any combination thereof.
 10. Theinteroperability system of claim 9, wherein the packet network isenabled for multicasting.
 11. The interoperability system of claim 9,wherein the interoperability data is a database.
 12. Theinteroperability system of claim 9, wherein the interoperability datacomprises the scenarios, connection information for each scenario and ascenario identifier for each scenario.
 13. The interoperability systemof claim 9, wherein the interoperability server is located on adistributed call management module.
 14. The interoperability system ofclaim 9, wherein the interoperability data is located on theinteroperability server.
 15. The interoperability system of claim 9,wherein any communication system that uses a protocol other than packetprotocol is in communication with the packet network through a gatewaythat converts signals from the protocol of the communication system intopacket protocol for sending over the packet network and converts signalsfrom the packet protocol into the protocol of the communication systemfor sending over the communication system.
 16. The interoperabilitysystem of claim 15, further comprising the gateway(s).
 17. Anon-transitory computer readable memory for storing data for access byan application program being executed on an interoperability server,comprising: an interoperability data structure stored in said memory,the data structure including information resident in a database used bysaid application program, the information accessible by a scenarioidentifier provided by a device initiating a communication, theinteroperability data structure including: a plurality of scenarioidentifier data objects comprising a scenario identifier for each of aplurality of scenarios, each scenario including connections required fora respective communication session between at least two user devicesfrom at least two different communication systems, at least one of thetwo communication systems being a two-way radio system, and having atleast two different communication protocols; and a plurality of scenariointerconnection data objects, the scenario connection data objectscomprising connection information for the respective communicationsession, including any combination of connections between a plurality ofradio units, IP Network unites, IP radio units, telephone units, IPtelephone units, and workstations; code for receiving and validatingauthorization information from the device initiating the communication;and code for automatically initiating establishment of a communicationsession corresponding to the scenario identifier provided by the deviceinitiating the communication, wherein each of the plurality ofcommunication systems is selected from the group consisting of a radiosystem, a dispatch system, a PSTN, a public IP (Internet Protocol)network, an IP telephone network, an IP radio system and any combinationthereof.
 18. An interoperability system for enabling interoperabilitybetween a plurality of communication systems having at least twodifferent communication protocols and said communication systems incommunication with a packet network, the interoperability systemcomprising: means for maintaining interoperability data defining aplurality of scenarios, each scenario defining a mode ofinteroperability between a respective set of communication systems ofthe plurality of communication systems, at least one communicationsystem in the respective set being a two-way radio system; means forcommunicating with the packet network; means for receiving authorizationinformation and a scenario identifier from a device initiating acommunication, the device configured to access one of the communicationsystems; and means for, in response to receiving the authorizationinformation and the scenario identifier, validating the authorizationinformation and automatically initiating a communication session for thedevice, wherein interoperability data comprises a database including thescenarios, connection information related to the scenarios and scenarioidentifiers, and data indicative of routing data packets between thecommunications systems, each scenario identifier identifying one of thescenarios, wherein each of the plurality of communication systems isselected from the group consisting of a radio system, a dispatch system,a PSTN, a public IP (Internet Protocol) network, an IP telephonenetwork, an IP radio system and any combination thereof.